In the wrong hands this drama about two young couples traveling along the back roads of a deserted American landscape could have turned into a predictable and yawn-inducing affair. As it is Carriers turns out to be a haunting and powerful take on a familiar story with a nagging ability to surprise you with material you have seen a dozen times before.

Four kids are driving through the desert on the way to the beach, their faces anything but cheery: this isnt Spring Break. Theyre trying to outrun the end of the world and each other. In Alex and David Pastors CARRIERS, no one is safe from the viral pandemic threatening to wipe out the human race. Determined to elude the deadly virus, Danny (LOU TAYLOR PUCCI), his brother Brian (CHRIS PINE), his girlfriend Bobby (Piper Perabo) and Dannys school friend Kate (EMILY VANCAMP) speed across the Southwestern U.S. to reach a place of possible safety. Over the course of four days, the group is faced with moral decisions no human should ever be forced to face. They discover that their greatest enemy is not the microbe attacking humanity, but the darkness within themselves.

The viral epidemic remains secondary as the human reaction to a global catastrophe takes centre stage. The characters behave in a manner that makes them utterly believable you can see yourself taking the decisions they do which is almost unheard of in this sort of film. They aren’t all likable or selfless either… sometimes they put themselves ahead of even their friends and family let alone strangers who they bump into (or happen to bump into them).

Chris Pine steps out of the Starship Enterprise and into rugged leading man territory with a mature and subtle performance as the self-appointed leader of the gang. Brian has always looked out for his younger brother, even before the outbreak and their relationship again mirrors many a sibling rivalry. The girls aren’t just along for the ride and to add some eye-candy to proceedings either… they bring out the best and worst in the brothers as well showing incredible survival instincts which manage to both encourage and horrify the viewer in equal measure.

The survivors use their own set of rules which in many ways are similar to those displayed in Zombieland from earlier in the year. This film however is not played for laughs… indeed it’s a stark as it gets. Writing and directing duo the Pastor Brothers clearly understand the material (cleverly they have a brotherly relationship played out throughout the film) and have produced a welcome addition to an already overcrowded genre.

Not the cheeriest film in the world by any means, but what were you expecting from one which focuses on the extreme measures people have to take in extreme circumstances?